Traci L. Wike

Examining Inclusion of Evidence-Based Practice on Social Work Training Program Websites

Websites represent a visible medium for social work programs to communicate information about social work research, academics, and professional training priorities, including evidence-based practice (EBP). However, few studies have examined the content of social work program websites. This exploratory study aimed to answer the question: Are EBP efforts in social work reflected on school websites? A guided content analysis of 40 randomly selected websites for schools of social work was used to identify how training, implementation, dissemination, and research related to EBP were represented through this medium. Implications for social work education, practice, and research are discussed.

Students With Disabilities and Involvement in Peer Victimization: Theory, Research, and Considerations for the Future

As demonstrated by President Obama’s statement at the 2011 White House Conference on Bullying Prevention, there is a growing consensus that bullying is a harmful force in schools. A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and United States Department of Education presents a uniform definition of bullying that includes “unwanted aggressive behavior . . . that involves an observed or perceived imbalance of power and is repeated multiple times or is highly likely to be repeated” (Gladden, Vivolo-Kantor, Hamburger, & Lumpkin, 2014, p. 7). Although concern about peer victimization is now at the forefront, interventions to reduce its occurrence often come up short (Merrell, Gueldner, Ross, & Isava, 2008; Ttofi & Farrington, 2011). At one level, efforts to prevent peer victimization should center on the creation and dissemination of more effective intervention approaches (Bradshaw, Waasdorp, O’Brennan, & Gulemetova, 2013; Cook, Williams, Guerra, Kim, & Sadek, 2010). At a second level, it is necessary for researchers and stakeholders (e.g., teachers, parents, policy makers) to understand that bullying is often rooted in natural social dynamics in school and to ask ourselves how these dynamics can be leveraged to reduce bullying (Farmer, Lines, & Hamm, 2011; Rodkin, 2011). Peer systems in schools function as communities that differentially promote and constrain social roles, opportunities, and interactions available to students and, in turn, may affect the outcomes of individually focused interventions, including efforts to reduce involvement in peer victimization (Ahn & Rodkin, 2014; Farmer, Lane, Lee, Hamm, & Lambert, 2012). Furthermore, the peer community can be managed by teachers to create social ecologies to support vulnerable youth (Gest, Madill, Zadzora, Miller, & Rodkin, 2014). On this count, it is useful to view peer victimization from a person-in-context framework that focuses on the interplay between characteristics of students, the relationships they form, and the broader social structures within schools (Rodkin, Hanish, & Wang, 2014; Swearer, Espelage, Vaillancourt, & Hymel, 2010). The overarching goal of this special issue is to consider peer victimization involvement and corresponding interventions for youth with disabilities from a social dynamics perspective that situates risks for being a victim, perpetrator, or both within a person-in-context framework. The focus here is not on a specific age range or type of disability. Rather, the aim is to provide a broad overview of issues related to peer victimization involvement of children and adolescents with various disabilities and special education needs. In this introduction, we begin with a discussion of aspects of a person-in-context perspective that provide insights into the social dynamics of the peer victimization process. This is followed by a brief review of literature on risk factors for involvement in peer victimization for students with disabilities. Next, we summarize approaches for promoting school contexts that support students’ social success and reduce their risk for involvement in peer victimization. In the final section, we provide a brief review of the articles in this special issue and consider them in light of the 572911 RSEXXX10.1177/0741932515572911Remedial and Special EducationFarmer et al. research-article2015

Voice and Community in the Corporate Academy: A Collective Biography

This article is the story of the simultaneous feminization and corporatization of universities, themes that emerged in a test of a collective biography, a qualitative research method. Organizers brought together 12 macro social work academic women across generations and, through sampling, attempted to avoid the intergenerational splitting that seems to be leaving junior faculty to be socialized by administrators while simultaneously isolating senior faculty from their generative role. Our analysis identified several trends developed from our collective experiences including changes in faculty governance, formalized mentoring, intergenerational faculty relationships, and shifting expectations. With these changes, we sense a reduction in what we used to think of as a collegium, now in danger of becoming an historical artifact.

Recent Social Work Practitioners’ Understanding and Use of Evidence-Based Practice and Empirically Supported Treatments

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to evaluate how CSWE’s 2008 shift placing more emphasis on research have affected newly trained social workers’ use of evidence-based practice (EBP). This qualitative study examined the educational and practice experiences of newly trained social workers and how those experiences influence the use of EBP and empirically supported interventions/treatments in the field. Thirteen newly graduated social workers were interviewed using a semi-structured interview. Twenty-three codes emerged from the interviews, with the most prominent theme being a sense of overall confusion about EBP. Other themes included lack of educational preparation, lack of agency resources, and prohibitive agency culture. Implications for social work education and practice are discussed.

Pregnant adolescent women's perceptions of depression and psychiatric services in the United States

PROBLEM Adolescent mothers and their children are at high-risk for depression and the associated negative educational, social, health, and economic outcomes. BACKGROUND However, few pregnant adolescent women with depression receive psychiatric services, especially low-income or racial/ethnic minority adolescent women. AIM This qualitative study explores perceptions of depression, psychiatric services, and barriers to accessing services in a sample of low-income, pregnant racial/ethnic minority adolescent women. Our goal was to better understand the experiences of depression during pregnancy for these vulnerable adolescent women, and thereby improve their engagement and retention in services for perinatal depression. METHODS We recruited 20 pregnant adolescent women who screened positive for depression from 2 public health prenatal clinics in the southeastern United States. Participants were low-income and primarily racial/ethnic minority women between 14 and 20 years old. Data were collected through individual in-depth, ethnographically informed interviews. FINDINGS Generally, participants lacked experience with psychiatric services and did not recognize their symptoms as depression. However, participants perceived a need for mood improvement and were interested in engaging in services that incorporated their perspective and openly addressed stigma. DISCUSSION Participants reported practical and psychological barriers to service engagement, but identified few cultural barriers. Family perceptions of psychiatric services served as both a barrier and support. CONCLUSION Adolescent women are more likely to engage in psychiatric services if those services reduce practical and psychological barriers, promise relief from the symptoms perceived as most meaningful, and address underlying causes of depression. Culture may affect Latina adolescent womens perceptions of depression and services.

Reclaiming and Reimagining Macro Social Work Education: A Collective Biography

ABSTRACT The authors focus on a collective biography of 12 women social work educators, all either tenured or in tenure lines, from five different universities at the time of the study. The participants represent several aspects of macro practice including administration, planning, community practice, and policy. Beginning with reflections about coming into macro practice, we highlight memories about first teaching experiences and examine cultural shifts discovered in our academic journeys. We feature students who inspired us and perceptions of challenges in curricular development affecting the preparation of students. This article includes comments that emphasize the themes and focus of our collective reflections. Finally, we place what we learned in the context of a report from the Association for Community Organization and Social Administration calling for the visibility of and advocacy for macro social work education.

Feasibility of treating depression in pregnant adolescents using brief interpersonal psychotherapy

ABSTRACT The current study examines a pilot study testing the feasibility of treating antenatal depression in public health clinics serving low-income adolescents using adapted brief interpersonal psychotherapy for depression in pregnant adolescents (IPT-BPA). This research addresses the disproportionate incidence of antenatal depression and its associated negative outcomes, including postpartum depression, among low-income adolescent mothers. Participants (N = 14) were recruited from two county-based public prenatal care clinics. Eligible participants were pregnant adolescents with major depression. Participants received nine sessions of IPT-BPA. Depressive symptoms were measured pre-and post-treatment. Differences were examined using paired t-tests. Most (81%) referred adolescents completed screening, and 73% met eligibility criteria. Of 16 eligible adolescents, 14 (87.5%) consented to participation, and 13 (93%) completed IPT-BPA . Participants who completed IPT-BPA experienced significant decreases in depression. The successful recruitment and retention of pregnant, depressed adolescents combined with significant, positive post-treatment changes in depression support the feasibility of treating adolescent perinatal depression in public health clinics using IPT-BPA.